The Socialist Party is made up of working class men and women -- some might say "ordinary folk." That the Socialist Party is not as large and influential as we would like, and as it should be, is a fact, and there's no doubt about it. Does that mean that the Socialist Party has been wrong for all these years? The Socialist Party is based on principles. If principles reflect facts then it is true and ought to be heeded. If it does not correspond to facts -- then it is false and misleading. The principle the SPGB bases itself on is the class struggle. That principle is as old as history itself. According to Marx “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.” In today’s times never have workers been asked to do so much for so little. We live in a world where one person's misfortune is another’s opportunity. Through miseducation the working class suffers from charlatans, who arrived one after the other to set up movements that bred hope in the hearts of the people; yet movements that in the end had to collapse, for a movement must be perfectly sound in principles or it cannot stand. A falsely based movement is a lie, and a lie cannot survive for very long. All these social movements came to grief, and what was the result? -- disappointment, despair, diffidence, hopelessness. Hence the political apathy, the popular cynicism, and general despondency expressed by our fellow workers.
The Socialist Party cannot stop world capitalism from creating ever more misery on a global scale than it already has. Only the working class can do that. What it can do, however, is hasten the day when workers will come to the realisation that they must act to end capitalism and build socialism. The Socialist Party is a political party to promote class-consciousness among workers by advocating a complete revolutionary change from capitalism to socialism. The Socialist Party exists to challenge the power of the ruling class, to capture the state machinery and to turn the reins over to the various democratic bodies of the people. However, just as class-consciousness will not grow of its own accord, neither will the Socialist Party. That responsibility ultimately rests with those who we can reach. Just as it is the responsibility of a revolutionary movement to promote class-consciousness, it is the responsibility of all those who grasp the socialist message to step up and join the Socialist Party to enhance its ability to reach our fellow-workers.
Many of us understand that capitalism has outlived its usefulness and that it is time for humanity to move to the next stage of civilization. We want to create a sane and productive world. The Socialist Party principles are based on workers acting with workers for workers. No enlightened leader nor condescending saviour from high is going to come along and set things right. It is useless for us to wait for deliverance from the pains caused by capitalism. We will have to deliver ourselves. No "vanguard" political leadership or dictatorship by any name can be a substitute for the people as a whole. When the SPGB has enough members and active supporters, it will offer political candidates for us (the working class majority of the population) to elect as our delegates, NOT to run the capitalist political government of today but to dissolve the current system of government that only serves to preserve the capitalists' hold over the rest of society. If we workers stopped cooperating with the political parties of capitalism and actively took part in controlling our world through our own political organisations, capitalism would be doomed. We can join together and we can change our world for the better rather than maintain it for the better-off.
Common sense should tell workers that the cause of declining wages, spreading economic insecurity and unemployment has nothing to do with who lives in the White House or sits in Parliament.
Common sense should tell workers that politicians don't decide when factories will close down or how many workers to lay off.
Common sense should tell workers that in a capitalist economy those decisions are made by those who own the factories, mills, mines and other means of wealth production.
Common sense should tell workers that capitalists make those decisions in their own interests, not in the interests of the working class.
From these and other facts the Socialist Party draws certain conclusions:
First: Increased productivity, declining wages, massive elimination of jobs, spreading economic insecurity and the congestion of wealth proves that the capitalist system of private ownership and profit production is based on the exploitation of the working class.
Second: As long as this foundation of society remains this trend will continue regardless of the claims and promises of politicians.
Third: That the only solution to such fundamental problems stemming from the very nature of the system under which we live must also be a fundamental one. As long as the working class of the country tolerates the private ownership and control of the economy, workers will be used for the profit whims of the tiny capitalist class.
We have seen that capitalism means either suffering for the majority or the threat of total annihilation. A small section of the population controls production and is not answerable to the rest of the community. The capitalist class has shown that it is unable to handle the means of production and distribution in any way to the advantage of the community. In the capitalist world, a competitive struggle between countries goes on, with enslavement by others in the unbridled pursuit of maximum profit. Capitalism expresses class-ownership and production for profit. Its destruction only involves the change of the individual or corporate ownership to the ownership of the community at large. Wage-slavery being done away with by the abolition of capital, the cooperative commonwealth will at once take its place.
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